Justice - Setosolace
by Kurumaka
Summary: An AU where Seto is a writer and Brice is an illustrator. [TRIGGER WARNINGS FOR LATER CHAPTERS]
1. act 1: brilliant darkness

Justice breaker - GUMI

"These eyes that have seen too much of this world couldn't even grasp a sliver of hope."

* * *

**They say that when you cease to live, you see nothing. You see the never-ending nothingness, blackness that surrounds you for the rest of eternity.**

I don't see black. I see red.

But, that might be because I'm not dead.

Not yet.

But, it feels like I am. Do you feel anything after you die?

I hope you don't.

I hate feeling.

**That's why we are supposed to enjoy living with the time we have. So we have something to think about when we are in the blackness.**

But, wouldn't that be really hurtful?

I mean, if we don't live like we wanted to, if we don't see the happiness others do, wouldn't our eternity be filled with sadness and tears?

I don't want to end up like that.

I want to be happy, I want to live my life to the fullest.

**The eternity is spent the way we want it to. If I wanted to swim in the blackness, I could.**

**If I wanted to climb a mountain made out of the blackness, I could.**

**If I wanted to dive into it, I could.**

**Our eternity in the blackness can be whatever we want.**

Does that mean I could make up a world there?

A world where there is no violence, a world where there is no pain.

A world where I wouldn't have to be afraid.

A world where I would be happy.

Yes, I want my darkness.

**So we can shape our thoughts to our liking. Human mind is an amazing place with countless secrets that beg to be found out.**

That's true, but…

There are secrets that are never supposed to see the daily light.

Just like I am.

I am a big secret.


	2. act 2: plot twists

Justice breaker - GUMI

"If you want to create a tear-jerker of a story, you just kill off the gentle heroine, right? If she dies, everyone'll cry you say?"

* * *

The weather was chilly, but exactly cold. It was perfect for short walks outside, ones where you could watch your breath form before you, leaves fall and kids play with kites.

That was what Brice was doing. He strolled down the street, hands stuffed in the pockets of his grey jacket. He was going to the coffee shop just round the corner, to warm himself and get one of the very popular donuts they served there.

He pushed the door open, the little bell hanging overhead ringing, signalling his entrance to the shop owner, a woman in her late twenties, who smiled brightly at him, setting down the rag she has been wiping the counter with.

"Good morning, Brice!" she greeted.

"Morning, Martha!" he said back, taking a seat by the window. Martha came to him holding a small notepad and pencil and asked him what he'd like.

"The usual," he answered. "You know."

"Mhm!" Martha wrote down the orden into the notepad, smiled brightly like always, and scurried into the back of the shop.

Brice pulled out his laptop, starting it up. He waited for it to turn on and plugged it into power meanwhile. He clicked onto the Chrome icon and his last session came up. He checked his Twitter, responding to few tweets. There was one particular tweet that immediately caught his attention. It was a notice, with a link, leading to the newest update on the online novel he had been hooked on.

He clicked it immediately, squirming in his seat as the page loaded.

He read the author's comment on top of the page:

'Excuse the lack of updates in the past week, there were some problems as usual. I hope you enjoy this short update.'

and went right into reading the story.

* * *

Christine held tightly onto Josh's hand. Her small fingers were shaking and her heart was beating erratically.

Josh leaned closer to her from his chair next to the bed, because she seemed to want to say something.

She took a deep breath and looked up, into Josh's dark amethyst eyes. Her voice was small and wavered, but still held defiance.

"They say that when you cease to live, you see nothing. You see the never-ending nothingness, blackness that surrounds you for the rest of eternity.

That's why we are supposed to enjoy living with the time we have. So we have something to think about when we are in the blackness.

The eternity is spent the way we want it to. If I wanted to swim in the blackness, I could.

If I wanted to climb a mountain made out of the blackness, I could.

If I wanted to dive into it, I could.

Our eternity in the blackness can be whatever we want.

So we can shape our thoughts to our liking. Human mind is an amazing place with countless secrets that beg to be found out."

She stopped her monologue with a series of coughs, bringing her other hand to her mouth to help herself. Josh patted her back gently, rubbing small circles through the fabric of her thin, white shirt.

"Josh," she whispered. "I'm going to discover the secrets. Right now, okay?"

Josh's purplish eyes widened, his pupils dilating in panic as he felt Christine's fingers stop squeezing his own. Her head fell onto the big pillow with a soft thud and her caramel eyes closed.

Josh felt his throat burn. He wanted to scream, to shout, to cry. Instead, silent tears ran down his cheeks as the nurses burst into the room, hurrying over and silencing the loudly beeping heart monitor and doing a check-up on Christine.

One of them kneeled in front of him, handing him a notebook and a pen. With shaky breaths, he scribbled his fianceé's last words onto the paper, cursing his muteness.

* * *

A gentle hand was set on Brice's shoulder and he jerked.

"Brice, here's your order," Martha said, smiling at him.

"O-oh yeah. Thank you, Martha," he said as the lady set down his coffee and treat.

He sighs and lets go of the table that he didn't even know he had been grasping. When he looked down, his knuckles were white from the force.

This author…

She's going to be the death of him, he swore.


	3. act 3: acts

Isn't it fine to be honest?

* * *

Seto hugged his thin jacket close to himself as he rounded a corner. His arm still stung when he had been gripped too tightly and he massaged it gently, trying to get rid of the pain. He pushed the door to his favorite coffee shop open with his shoulder, smiling softly as he heard the familiar bell.

The inside was warm and cozy, and Miss Martha was standing by the counter, smiling at him with her gentle face like always.

"Good morning," he greeted, nodding his head at her.

"Oh hi, Seto. The usual?" she asked, already moving to the coffee machine.

"Yes, thank you," Seto smiled slightly.

"Go take a seat, I'll have it ready in a second," Martha said as she poured water.

Seto nodded even though Miss Martha was turned away. She knew he did, anyway. So he took a look around the small coffee, trying to find himself a free table.

Unfortunately for him, all the tables were taken, mostly by couples and small groups of friends discussing together. By the window, though, there was a table by the window with just a man sitting, who seemed to be reading on his laptop and eating a donut.

Seto gulped heavily, the noise echoing in his head.

Still holding onto his arm, he walked over to the table, looking down.

"Hi, um… Could I sit with you?" he asked.

The blond man looked up from his screen, and after a quick look around said "Yeah, sure."

Seto sat opposite of him, watching the man silently as he waited for Miss Martha. His blonde hair caught the soft sunrays from outside nicely, reflecting it in a whole spectrum of goldens. His eyes were the deepest blue of the ocean that Seto had ever seen, and he made a mental note about it for later.

Miss Martha came with a plate a few minutes later, setting it onto the table.

"Here you go, Seto boy."

"Thank, Miss Martha," Seto mumbled.

"And here's your notebook. You forgot it here yesterday," she said, handing him a faded composition book.

"Oh, thank you, Miss Martha!" he said, smiling at the lady.

She flashed him another one of her famous grins and waved her hand as she returned to the counter. Seto opened the book, skimming to the last page he had written in. He left off at the - supposedly - heartbreaking scene, according to his readers.

Reading through it again, he saw nothing heartbreaking about it. In reality, it was the scene where Christine freed herself. Seto sighed.

Not everyone would understand something the same way, anyway.

He flipped to the last page, where he had taped a calendar. He'd get his payment tomorrow.

Which means, he'd have to come up with a god hiding spot for the money.

"Hey."

He nearly jumped when the man talked.

"Y-Yeah?" he stammered, gulping.

"You're a regular here, aren't you?" the blond asked, sipping from his coffee.

"Mhm," Seto nodded, looking away from the captivating blue eyes and taking his own cup.

"I haven't seen you before, though. I'm Brice," the blond - Brice - extended his hands for him and Seto hesitantly shook it.

"Seto," he mumbled, taking a sip of the hot milky beverage.

"Nice to meet you," Brice smiles.

"Yeah, you too," Seto answers absentmindedly, looking out of the window as he twiddles his pencil.

There was nothing nice about this, honestly. He would much rather sit alone, eat his muffin and write the rest of the scene. Guess today wasn't his lucky day.


	4. act 4: curiosity

"But that's the kind of hopeless reality we live in they'll say"

* * *

After tapping his pencil over the page of his notebook for over fifteen minutes, Seto decided that it was enough. His muffin was long eaten, coffee long drunk. He tried writing he rest of his new chapter, but the inspiration wouldn't and wouldn't come to him. The only thing he could think about were the stranger's - Brice's - deep blue eyes, how his soft looking blonde hair would feel if he ran his fingers through it, and how his skin almost shone in the soft Sundays.

He stood up, heaving a sigh and taking his plate, going over to the counter where Miss Martha was dutyfuly cutting cakes.

"Oh, leaving already, Seto boy?" she asked with a smile, setting down the knife she had been holding.

"Yeah," he nodded, fishing in his pocket for his wallet. "I have some things to take care of today," he said. Mostly involving not coming home until late at night. He paid for the treats, smiling gently as Miss Martha waved him on his way out of the shop, smiling brightly as a 60 Watt lightbulb.

"See you tomorrow, Seto boy!" she called after him cheerfully.

"Later, Miss Martha," he said, pushing the glass door open.

* * *

Brice stood up after few minutes, going over to the counter himself with his empty plate and cup.

"You're leaving too, Brice boy?" Martha asked with a small pout on her tanned face.

"Yeah…" he murmured. "Martha, could you tell me about that boy?" he asked tentatively as he paid his receipt.

The shop owner leaned on the counter, relaxing her arms and giving him back his change. "Oh you mean Seto?"

Brice nodded, taking the coins.

"Well, he comes here everyday," she said, taking Brice's dishes. She turned to the sink that sat on the back wall and turned on the faucet. "He always has the same; a chocolate muffin and milky latte," she explained as she cleaned the crumbs off the plate and washed it.

"I see…" Brice mumbled. That didn't help his curiosity much.

"He's a very nice boy, Seto is. Always polite, always polite," Martha talked to herself, as Brice was only listening with one ear. Her sponge made sqeaky noises as she cleaned the cup with it. "But he is always alone. There was not a time I had seen him talk to anyone else than me in this shop, before today."

"Hmmm…" Brice hummed. His curiosity was being picked and picked. He wanted to know who Seto was and why he was always alone.

"When does he usually come?" Brice asked openly.

Damn his curiosity.

* * *

Seto walked down the street, looking back and forth in every direction with his chocolate eyes. He had pulled his purple hood over his head, effectively hiding his soft brunet hair as he sped down along the crowds of people shopping.

He didn't know where he was going, but one thing was for sure: not home.


	5. act 5: late

_Say that nothing will change!_

_Say that you won't disappear!_

* * *

Martha was right, Seto did indeed come to the café every day at the same time. Around ten AM, to have his donut and coffee.

Brice started coming at the same time, every time sitting next to the brunet, who appeared very confused by his action at the beginning, but after the first few days, always greeted him with a wide smile.

They talked, mostly about some random stuff or Brice, but whenever it came to Seto, the conversation would end with a very tense silence that Brice always had to break. He learned to not ask about Seto's personal life, as that seemed like a taboo.

He didn't really care, to be honest, he was just curious.

The brunet became his friend, someone who always listened to his artistic rambling about how a certain type of brush didn't do good at outlining or how he just couldn't get some pieces of clothing shaded.

Not wanting to really aknowledge it, Brice became attached to the timid brunet.

* * *

Brice spent the majority of his next morning, lunch, and afternoon sitting in Martha's café. After his sixth donut for lunch, he thought he would vomit at the sight of another sweet.

He refused to admit he had been waiting for Seto to show up, but it was pretty obvious. Martha didn't really help herself, dropping comments like 'He should've already come', 'He's late' and 'What if something happened to him?' all the time.

It didn't help Brice's already anxious mind, which ran seventy miles per second coming up with unlikely scenarios ending with the petite brunet hurt and, in the worst case scenarios (which made his whole body tremble, for some reason or another), even dead.

Martha must've noticed his tenseness, because she was next to his table in a millisecond.

"Brice boy," she cooed. "I think you should go home now. You're worrying too much. How about I call you after Seto shows up?"

Brice looked out the window for a second, nodding. "Yeah," he agreed.

He stood up, packing his laptop into his bag slowly, biting his lip.

Just as he was putting the charger into the bag, the little bell over the door chimed, signalling the entrance of someone. Brice's eyes moved upwards with the speed of light, both expecting to see the brunet and prepared to see someone else and have his hopes crushed.

The ocean of his eyes widened as he saw that the one entering the café was indeed the little brunet, holding heavily onto the door.

"Seto boy!" Martha called out from behind her counter where she had returned.

"Seto…" Brice murmured as he saw that the boy was limping, his face hidden by the shadow of his hoodie, but he was smiling as he made his way to Brice's table, almost collapsing halfway there and having to rely on the taller blond to help him.

"What happened?" Brice asked, concern lacing his words heavily.

Seto smiled sheepishly, rubbing the back of his neck. "I fell down the stairs and had to go get my ankle checked," he said.

It sounded like a lie from a C rated chick flick, but it seemed that Brice and Miss Martha had believed him.

"Well is it bad?" Brice asked, worried.

Yeah, it is. The damned 'stairs' nearly killed me yesterday. Again.

"No, it's fine," Seto said. "Everything is going to be fine after a few days."

"Oh well that's good," Brice murmured. His gaze lingered at the bottom of Seto's loose pants.

"You must be hungry, Seto boy," Miss Martha called from the counted, coming to them with a plate of Seto's ordinary order.

"Thank you, Miss Martha," Seto said gratefully.

"There's nothing to thank me for, Seto boy," she said, returning to her counter.


	6. act 6: walk

_Shall I tell you_

_about the things I've come to see up 'till now?_

* * *

Brice refused to allow Seto to go home by himself, to the brunet's dismay. He insisted on being okay, but Brice would have none of that.

When Seto finished his food and paid Miss Martha, Brice helped him up, the smaller teen only barely escaping being held like a brice with his loud protests. Instead, Brice swung Seto's arm over his neck when even his piggyback offer went refused (rather harshly, he had to say).

The boy was leaning almost all of his weight on Brice, the blond was confusedly left wondering how he even got to the café in the first place.

"Okay, where do you live?" Brice asked.

"Huh?" Seto let out a confused sound, looking up at the blond.

"I'm getting you home. You need to rest," the taller explained.

"O-oh," Seto looked away, biting his lip.

* * *

Seto was panicking.

He couldn't go home!

He just came from there, and wouldn't go back!

He had to think quickly. He could… He could go to… Kyle, maybe?

Kyle would take care of him for a little while, right?

"Down the street, and left," he said softly.

Brice nodded, walking down the said route. He didn't ask any more questions, except when he wasn't sure they were going the right way.

It only took them a few minutes, and they arrived in front of a small house, with the curtains drawn.

"Thank you," Seto said, letting go of Brice's neck and almost stumbling, catching himself on the fence.

"Are you okay?" Brice immediately asked.

"Yeah," Seto replied with a sheepish smile. He rung the bell, waiting patiently for Kyle to open the door, because he knew Brice wouldn't go away without knowing he went inside.

It took a little bit, but eventually, the door opened, Kyle's pink hair (a mess; he probably didn't comb it in the morning) peeking through.

"Yeah? Seto?" he asked confusedly.

"Hi," Seto called back, prolonging the word as he motioned vaguely to Kyle to keep quiet.

"Come in," Kyle said.

Seto nodded, turning around to Brice again and thanking him again. Brice waved him off, turning around and going back, probably home himself. Seto limped over inside Kyle's house.

"Seto! What happened to you? Who was that?" Kyle showered him in questions immediately.

Seto sighed, dropping onto an armchair with a grunt. "I'm fine, just some minor injuries," he said. "And that was Brice, he sits with me in the café. He's nice."

"Okay, need anything?" Kyle asked.

"No, I'm sorry for coming so suddenly. Brice wanted to get me home," Seto explained.

"You can sleep over, if you want to," the pinknet called from the kitchen as he made tea for both of them.

"Thanks," Seto said, a small smile on his lips.

The two sat in the living room, sipping their teas as they watched some random show on the TV.

Seto had to admit, it was nice. Kyle bandaged his foot, making Seto explain what happened (just like every time). Seto reluctantly did (just like every time).

The brunet was glad. There were only a few people he really trusted, and Kyle was one of them.

"Oh, by the way," Seto piped up. "I've had a few ideas for the next chapter."

"Is that so? Tell me," Kyle demanded.

The brunet rummaged through his bag, pulling out his notebook and flipping through the pages to show the pinknet what he had been working on.

He was always overjoyed when Kyle was interested in his story.


	7. act 7: morning

Kyle had a great artistic taste. Even if he didn't believe it, he did.  
He had great ideas, and throughout the night - since Seto didn't feel like sleeping and who would Kyle be to force him to do anything? - they wrote a whole new chapter to his story. When it was finally posted, Kyle managed to pull Seto into the bedroom, even if it was around four in the morning already. He refused to allow the brunet to sleep on the duvet that was on the ground and forced - didn't he just say he would never do that? - him onto the bed next to it whoile he a blanket for himself.  
He ignored all of Seto's protests and left the room to let the petite brunet to change into the clothes he had stored in Kyle's wardrobe from all of his visits.  
"You done?" Kyle asked through the door. He changed into his own pajamas, a simple red shirt and shorts.  
"Yeah," Seto called.  
The pinknet opened the door and slipped inside, throwing his clothes into the bin by the window. He looked at Seto, who was sitting on the bed watching him. The colorful marks on his arms were too prominent on his pale skin, and the unnatural light in the room didn't help the outlook at all - quite the opposite, actually, it just made him look even more sickly.  
Kyle's eyebrows drew together and he sighed. He flicked the light switch off, flooding the whole room in darkness, with only the bare minimum of light coming from the window. He laid on the duvet and pulled the covers over himself.  
"Good night," he mumbled.  
"Good night, Kyle," Seto whispered back after a little while as he wrapped his own covers around himself.

The small bell chimed through the shop as the front door opened, a figure wrapped up in a coat with a black bag on his shoulder.  
"Oh, Brice boy!" Martha chimed, smiling brightly at the blond as she continued putting the freshly baked cupcakes onto the counter.  
"Good morning," Brice said, taking a seat and pulling his jacket off.  
"The usual?" Martha asked, putting the tray away into the pile of dishes waiting to be cleaned.  
"No, just something light, please," Brice said. He woke up fueled with energy, which was very unusual for him.  
"One milky latte, coming right up," the brunette said, getting to work.  
Brice pulled out his laptop from his bag and set it onto the table. He booted it up, taking a quick look around the shop. It was surprisingly empty for being almost noon.  
The only people present were a couple huddled by the windowed wall, sharing a big piece of cake, and a girl reading a book while mindlessly stirring coffee in her cup.  
"Here you go, Brice boy," Martha said, surprising him by setting his often onto the table.  
"Oh, thank you," Brice said, flashing her a smile.  
Martha went back to the counter and started doing the dishes. Brice meanwhile opened his browser and took a small sip of his latte, almost scalding himself.  
His face twisted into a grimace, but then immediately lit up when he noticed the new update of his favorite story.

"Seto, Seto!"  
Someone shook his shoulders and the pale brunet woke up with a start. He jolted into a sitting position, wide chocolate eyes blinking furiously at Kyle.  
"Right, I'm sorry," the pinknet muttered, letting go immediately. "I got you breakfast," he said.  
"T-thanks," Seto breathed out, smiling at Kyle.  
"Come on," Kyle said, pointing to the kitchen.  
Seto untangled himself from the covers and stood up. His shirt hanged from his thin frame, the dark color contrasting with his pale skin. Kyle had to bite his lip to not sigh at the sight.  
The strong smell of bacon hit Seto's nose, pulling him to the kitchen. Sitting on the table were two plates with bacon and eggs. Seto and Kyle sat down and started eating.  
"You're a great cook," Seto wondered aloud.  
Kyle laughed. "When'd you eat bacon last time? When'd you eat a normal breakfast anyway?" he asked.  
"I eat muffins everyday," Seto said, trying to justify his eating habits.  
"Do you eat anything else?"  
"Not really..." he mumbled.  
"Jesus, Seto," Kyle sighed.  
Seto laughed dryly, stuffing his face with the bacon. They finished the meal in silence and Seto volunteered to do the dishes, but Kyle turned him down without a second thought.  
"Where are you gonna go?" Kyle asked.  
"I'll go get my pay and go to the Miss Martha's shop," Seto said. "I'm gonna get changed," he announced, going back to the bedroom. He changed into his jeans and pulled the hoodie over his head.  
When he came back, Kyle was done with the dishes and was just waiting for him at this point. "Do you want me to come with you?" he asked.  
"Are you okay with that?" Seto questioned. In reality, he was really glad that Kyle offered to come with him.  
"Of course!"  
Seto beamed at him brightly. Kyle couldn't help but smile, seeing Seto smile was rare, and he was glad he got to see it.  
"Hey, would you mind taking this month's money? I don't really want to let him get to it," he muttered after a little while of thinking.  
"Yeah, sure. It's gonna be safe here," Kyle said.  
Seto wrapped his arms around Kyle's neck and hugged him tightly. "Thanks, Kyle."

The bell chimed again, ringing through the almost empty shop. Both Martha's and Brice's heads snapped up, and they both smiled at Seto and Kyle.  
"Good morning," Seto said.  
"Good morning, Seto boy!" Miss Martha said, straightening her apron.  
"Okay, I'm gonna go. You take care and call me if anything happens," Kyle said, patting Seto's shoulder lightly. The brunet hissed and Kyle quickly pulled away. "Sorry."  
"It's okay. Thanks," Seto said, smiling softly.  
"Yeah... See you," Kyle turned around and left the shop with another chime.  
Seto went over to Brice's table and greeted the blond. "Hi."  
"Hey, Seto," Brice smiled at him. He seemed to be reading something on his laptop.  
"What are you reading?" he asked, looking over Brice's shoulder.  
'Josh stared at the wall blankly, waiting for the nurse to return with the papers she went off to fetc-'  
"It's my favorite story. The girl writing it is amazing," Brice said.  
"The author isn't a girl," Seto pointed out. That was a sentence that Kyle wrote last night.  
"What? How do you know?"


End file.
